TAMPA, FLORIDA--The University of South Florida professor who had
been appointed as Terri Schiavo's independent advocate under "Terri's Law" said
Tuesday that tests should be done to determine once and for all whether she is
in a "persistent vegetative state", as her husband claims, or alert and awake,
as her parents argue.

Both sides would first need to drop any court action and accept a final
decision by a review panel, said Jay Wolfson, who acted as Terri's guardian ad
litem for two months after Governor Jeb Bush passed the law which had her
feeding tube replaced six days after it had been removed.

"There is so much at stake here, not just for Terri, but for the issue,"
Wolfson told the Associated Press.

"If we were serious about addressing this, we would say, 'What are the
interests of the parties and how can we use science, medicine and good law to
take away from the clouding factors in this case?'"

Terri's parents and her husband have both suggested and refused reviews
by experts during the decade-long battle over whether Terri should live or
die.

On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court decided not to intervene in the
Florida Supreme Court's decision to reject the law that kept Terri alive after
October 21, 2003. That decision held that the governor overstepped his
authority under the state's Constitution when he championed the law.

Later on Monday, an attorney for Terri's parents, Bob and Mary
Schindler, asked Michael Schiavo to divorce Terri and let them become her
guardians.

"If there is any way for Michael to walk away . . . just please, please,
please let them keep their daughter and just walk away," said attorney David
Gibbs.

Mr. Schiavo has indicated that he plans to have Terri's feeding tube
removed as soon as it is legally possible.

Terri is currently being kept alive under a stay granted by Pinellas
Circuit Court Judge George Greer, who said he would not allow Mr. Schiavo to
remove the tube until after the Schindlers' appeals to the appellate court are
exhausted.

The Schindlers currently have an appeal before the 2nd District Court of
Appeal over its refusal to hold a new trial based on comments made last March
by Pope John Paul II. The pontiff proclaimed that allowing people with
disabilities to starve to death is unethical and immoral "euthanasia by
omission". Her parents believe that, as a Roman Catholic, Terri would not have
wanted to go against the pope.

The Schindlers also have a request that Michael be removed as their
daughter's guardian, and another case claiming that Terri's constitutional due
process rights have been violated.

Greer could lift the stay as early as next month if the appellate court
does not rule in the family's favor. However, the Schindlers could ask for him
to keep the stay in place while they appeal any of the other court actions,
which could take months.

Terri collapsed from a heart attack on February 26, 1990 and her brain
was without oxygen for several minutes. She breathes on her own, but because
she cannot swallow, she receives food and water through the tube installed
through the wall of her stomach. Her husband and several doctors have said that
she is in a "persistent vegetative state" from which she cannot recover. Even
though she left no will or advanced directive, courts have accepted Mr.
Schiavo's claims that she told him she would not want to live "by artificial
means".

Terri's parents have battled with her husband over what they assert is
her right to live. They claim she is awake, alert, and could benefit from
therapies -- including swallowing therapies -- which Mr. Schiavo has refused to
allow. They argue that he should be removed as guardian, in part because he is
engaged to a woman with whom he has fathered two children.

Disability rights groups have been closely following Terri's situation
and have supported her parents and Governor Bush in their efforts to keep her
alive. The advocates claim that Terri represents tens of thousands of people
with severe disabilities who are forced to rely on others to decide whether
they will live or die.